A presidential election was held in Massachusetts on December 18, 1788, and January 7, 1789, as part of the 1788–89 United States presidential election. Federalists led the polls in the first round of voting in each of the state's eight electoral districts. The Massachusetts General Court subsequently chose one elector from among the leading candidates in each district and appointed two further electors to represent the state at-large. All 10 electors voted for George Washington and John Adams.

Federalists won the 1788 Massachusetts elections, re-electing the incumbent governor John Hancock and electing majorities in the Massachusetts Senate and the House of Representatives. Federalist legislators proceeded to divided the state into eight electoral districts, with each district choosing one elector in the upcoming presidential election. While the district system paid lip service to democratic representation, the map adopted by the General Court was gerrymandered to overrepresent the Federalist-leaning counties in Eastern Massachusetts.

Washington was widely expected to be the first choice of the Electoral College in the first elections held under the Constitution of the United States. Some uncertainty persisted concerning the choice of the first vice president, however, due partly to the electoral system established by Article II of the Constitution. Under this system, each elector voted for two candidates; the candidate with the largest majority was elected president, and the runner-up vice president. With Washington likely to become president, many observers expected Adams to receive the other vote of most of the electors. Some, such as Alexander Hamilton, feared Adams's popularity would be so great as to result in a tied vote, throwing the election to the United States House of Representatives. Hamilton believed this event would be deeply embarrassing to the new government and personally intervened with the electors to urge them not to vote for Adams.

More than 200 candidates received votes in the first round. Voters in each district voted for two candidates, with the two highest-placed candidates advancing to a runoff in the General Court. The electors appointed by the General Court met on February 4, 1789, and voted for Washington and Adams.

General election Summary Massachusetts chose eight electors from single-member districts and two additional electors to represent the state at-large. Early election laws required voters to elect the members of the Electoral College individually, rather than as a block. The following table compares the sum of the votes for the leading Federalist and Anti-Federalist electors in each township to give an approximate sense of the statewide popular vote.

Results by county + 1788–89 United States presidential election in Massachusetts by county County George WashingtonFederalists George WashingtonAnti-Federalists Margin Total Votes % Votes % Votes % Barnstable 137 100.00 — 137 100.00 137 Berkshire 517 81.80 115 18.20 402 63.60 632 Bristol 567 65.10 304 34.90 263 30.20 871 Cumberland 146 100.00 — 146 100.00 146 Dukes 2 100.00 — 2 100.00 2 Essex 1,047 86.67 161 13.33 886 73.34 1,208 Hampshire 1,056 86.99 158 13.01 898 73.98 1,214 Lincoln 163 38.35 262 61.65 -99 -23.30 425 Middlesex 958 88.46 125 11.54 833 76.92 1,083 Nantucket 147 100.00 — 147 100.00 147 Plymouth 341 98.84 4 1.16 337 97.68 345 Suffolk 691 82.66 145 17.34 546 65.32 836 Worcester 748 57.63 550 42.37 198 15.26 1,298 York 200 68.49 92 31.51 108 36.98 292 TOTAL 6,720 77.81 1,916 22.19 4,804 55.62 8,636

Results by district + 1788–89 United States presidential election in Massachusetts by district District George WashingtonFederalists George WashingtonAnti-Federalists Margin Total Votes % Votes % Votes % At-large electors 2 2 — Barnstable & Plymouth 1 478 99.17 1 4 0.83 — 474 98.34 482 Berkshire & Hampshire 1 1,573 85.21 1 273 14.79 — 1,300 70.42 1,846 Bristol, Dukes, & Nantucket 1 716 70.20 1 304 29.80 — 412 40.40 1,020 Cumberland, Lincoln, & York 1 509 58.98 1 354 41.02 — 155 17.96 863 Essex 1 1,047 86.67 1 161 13.33 — 886 73.34 1,208 Middlesex 1 958 88.46 1 125 11.54 — 833 76.92 1,083 Suffolk 1 691 82.66 1 145 17.34 — 546 65.32 836 Worcester 1 748 57.63 1 550 42.37 — 198 15.26 1,298 TOTAL 10 6,720 77.81 10 1,916 22.19 0 4,804 55.62 8,636

Barnstable and Plymouth

Berkshire and Hampshire

Bristol, Dukes, and Nantucket

Cumberland, Lincoln, and York

Essex

Middlesex

Suffolk + 1788–89 United States presidential election in Massachusetts: Suffolk Party Candidate Votes % Fusion Jabez Fisher 801 44.50% style="width: 3em" Federalists Caleb Davis 585 32.50% style="width: 3em" Anti-Federalists Thomas Dawes 132 7.33% style="width: 3em" Federalists James Bowdoin 46 2.56% style="width: 3em" Federalists Benjamin Lincoln 43 2.39% Federalists William Heath 39 2.17% Federalists Cotton Tufts 36 2.00% Unknown Stephen Metcalf 31 1.72% Federalists Charles Jarvis 23 1.28% Unknown Oliver Wendell 21 1.17% Unknown John Metcalf 10 0.56% Anti-Federalists John Winthrop 8 0.44% Federalists Richard Cranch 6 0.33% Anti-Federalists Samuel Adams 5 0.28% Federalists Fisher Ames 4 0.22% Unknown Ebenezer Thayer Jr. 2 0.11% Unknown James Humphrey 2 0.11% Unknown Lemuel Kollock 2 0.11% Unknown Elias Parkman 1 0.06% Federalists John Lowell 1 0.06% Unknown Nathaniel Bailey 1 0.06% Unknown Norton Brailsford 1 0.06% Total votes 1,800 100.00%

Worcester

Maps

Contingent election The Massachusetts General Court met on January 7, 1789, to appoint two electors to represent the state at-large and eight electors to represent districts where no candidate won a majority of the popular vote. In the district races, the legislature chose between the two candidates with the most votes in the general election. The state's election law as originally written required the legislature to choose two at-large electors who had not been candidates in the general election, but the large number of candidates led legislators to drop this requirement.

+ 1789 contingent United States presidential election in Massachusetts District Party Candidate At-large Federalists Nathan Cushing Federalists William Shepard Barnstable & Plymouth Federalists William Sever Federalists Samuel Savage Berkshire & Hampshire Federalists Samuel Henshaw Federalists Elijah Dwight Bristol, Dukes, & Nantucket Federalists Walter Spooner Federalists Elishah May Cumberland, Lincoln, & York Federalists David Sewall Anti-Federalists Daniel Cony Essex Federalists Samuel Phillips Jr. Federalists George Cabot Middlesex Federalists Francis Dana Federalists John Brooks Suffolk Federalists Caleb Davis Fusion Jabez Fisher Worcester Federalists Moses Gillcolspan=2 Abel Wilder

Electoral College Presidential candidate Party Home state Electoralvote George Washington Independent Virginia 10 John Adams Federalists Massachusetts 10 Total votes 10 Source: A New Nation Votes: American Election Results, 1787–1825. American Antiquarian Society.

See also United States presidential elections in Massachusetts

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